On 21 April, then President-Elect Volodymyr Zelensky called the release of all political prisoners and PoWs his priority. He now has every opportunity to make that a reality and the relatives of the prisoners and human rights groups have given him a road map on where to begin | детальніше

The de facto High Court in Russian-occupied Crimea has upheld a 10.5 year sentence against a young Crimean Tatar, Fevzi Sahandzhy despite the latter’s allegations of torture and the lack of any criminal behaviour in the charges | детальніше

Ukrainian rights activist Andrey Yarovoi (Andriy Yarovyi] has become the laureate of the 2019 Carol and Travis Jenkins Award for his outstanding contribution to reducing drug-related harm, although he is imprisoned in the so-called ’Luhansk people’s republic’ and could not receive it himself. | детальніше

At least four of the 24 Ukrainian prisoners of war whom Russia seized on 25 November 2018 have been taken to the Serbsky Institute for supposed psychiatric assessment. All the men are likely to be subjected to what, in the given situation, amounts to punitive psychiatry | детальніше

Russia had seized its first Ukrainian political prisoner even before completing its illegal annexation. Mykola Shyptur has now been imprisoned for over five years serving a 9-year sentence on a surreal charge of attempting to murder men who were trying to abduct, and probably kill, him | детальніше

In its first quarterly report since Russia’s attack on three Ukrainian naval ships near Crimea, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has clearly stated that Russia is in breach of international humanitarian law and that the 24 Ukrainians seized on 25 November 2018 are prisoners of war | детальніше

Russia’s attack on Ukrainian naval vessels and seizure of 24 POWs were condemned by the international community but the sanctions thus far have been “like a pinprick to an elephant”, according to Nikolai Polozov, the coordinator of the lawyers representing the 24 Ukrainians | детальніше

Maxim Sokurenko has been remanded in custody in occupied Crimea and could face a three-year prison sentence for hurling a bit of paint at a monument to the Russian soldiers without insignia who seized control of Crimea five years ago | детальніше

It is indicative of the questionable nature of all such prosecutions that Russian-controlled reports of this sentence used identical video footage to that shown in reporting another alleged arrest of a ‘battalion member’ on that very same day. | детальніше

PACE has called on Russia to release all 24 Ukrainian servicemen seized on 25 November 2018, and has insisted that their treatment must be in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, one of which regulates treatment of prisoners of war. | детальніше

After claiming that Edem Bekirov, an amputee who has a serious heart condition, is an Asker Battalion fighter, the Russian FSB is now hiding the face of another Crimean Tatar arrested on similar charges, and carrying out armed searches of the parents of activists living in mainland Ukraine | детальніше

The self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ has ‘sentenced’ Stanislav Pechonkin to 10 years’ imprisonment, after taking the young man hostage while he was visiting Horlivka, which is under the Russian-controlled ‘republic’s’ control. | детальніше

Even the media reports that showed Bekirov having difficulty walking with a crutch still posted headlines claiming that he was a member of a military formation who’d been seized with 11 kilograms of explosives. | детальніше

Leonid Parkhomenko, a retired Black Sea Fleet captain from Sevastopol, has been convicted by the Russian military court in Rostov of ‘treason’ and sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment. Parkhomenko denied the charges, which date back to 2003-2005, and there are strong grounds for suspecting the methods used to obtain the conviction. | детальніше

Russia’s attempt to justify its seizure of 24 Ukrainian prisoners of war on 25 November by bringing criminal charges against the men has hit major hurdles, however Russian President Vladimir Putin is scarcely concealing his unwillingness to release any political prisoners or POWs for fear of helping President Petro Poroshenko in the coming elections | детальніше

A ‘court’ in Russian-occupied Crimea has remanded 58-year-old Edem Bekirov in custody for two months, after he was seized by the FSB on 12 December when he tried to cross into Crimea to visit his elderly mother’ | детальніше